October 15, 1997
October 15, 1997
Pat Grant
Board President
Wediko Children's Services
262 Beacon Street
Boston, Ma. 02116
Dear Mr. Grant,
During this past summer our daughter took part in the Wediko Summer Residential Treatment Camp program. Prior to attending the six week camp, she was an extremely angry, depressed and aggressively disruptive 12 year old child. Over the past four years we have consulted with different mental health professionals in the Kansas City area, placed her in a small private school, attended Tough Love meetings and hired tutors - absolutely nothing helped. At times her disruptive behavior even seemed to escalate after some of these interventions.
She came into our lives when she was only three days old. Other then being a colicky baby during her first six months, her developmental course was quite normal. She was happy, fun-loving and very self confident. Upon entering third grade she suddenly transformed into an extremely difficult and despondent child. She was no longer able to experience any self-satisfaction. Her constant mantra was 'it is not good enough...big enough...small enough...clean enough... new enough... sweet enough etc, etc, etc.." She developed a great fantasy life about her biological mother and "what life would have been like if only!?!!" She became more oppositional with each new fantasy.
Our daughter instantly bonded with Dr. Leichtman during her initial interview at the Boston Office in March. He detailed for her the typical feelings and responses that adoptive children experience when attempting to understand their place in the adoptive triangle. She cried tears of relief and was happy that, finally, someone was able to understand her thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. She openly spoke about problems in the family and in her life. She has stated several times that that interview was the new beginning for her. She looked forward with positive anticipation to her summer at camp.
We visited with our daughter at camp mid-session. It was immediately apparent to us that she had been profoundly impacted by her Wediko experience. Her eyes were bright, (gone was that distant stare of disinterest), her body stance was that of confidence, and she maintained eye contact while she spoke. She was interactive and involved. She was more like the happy child we once knew.
Our daughter returned from Wediko a different person. She is once again an integral part of our family. Her anger and antagonism toward her adoptive mother have disappeared. She is working well in school and is getting along with her peers, teachers, siblings and parents. She now becomes actively involved in her own problem solving when difficulties at school arise. The Wediko experience has been so positive for her that now she talks of going back next year "to work on my negative self-talk and my problems with self esteem". She also has dreams of becoming a camp counselor at Wediko when she is a college student.
We do not know now to express our gratitude to everyone involved with Wediko. All of you have given my daughter the tools to begin to find her way. she now believes in the word "POSSIBILITY". Thank you, each and every one of you.